29 shots, five posts and a missed penalty

2023-07-30 18:32:22

“Five sticks is something that had never happened to me. Although it’s better if it happens in the pre-season”. Ancelotti smiled after the US’s defeat in the Clásico (3-0). A gesture of tranquility cradled by the veterans who understand this type of match as a trial-error. But the 29 shots on goal with a zero goal result accelerates the need to hire Mbappe or a striker with guarantees that compensates for the 40 goals that Benzema contributed, even out of peak form.

“It seemed that there was a wall in the goal. It is a new team and we have to adapt, but it has gone well. Without a fixed ‘9’ we have chances. The alternatives stand out well and that is positive“, argued ‘Carletto’. The duel began with Rodrygo and Vinicius up front. It ended with the return to 4-3-3 and Joselu in the lead. None of the formulas gave Real Madrid the goal, that crashed up to five times against the sticks.

Vinicius and the lack of clarity on penalties

Three of the unsuccessful attempts on wood were from viniciusa player who is relearning functions in the scheme of four midfielders. This forces him to play more inside, where he is not so comfortable. With everything, he continues to generate like the most. The Brazilian was the maximum exponent of nonsense. After the departure of Benzema, Vini He wants to assume the stripes of shooting the penaltieswho has been rehearsing for days in the final part of training.

His shot from eleven meters went to the crossbar. He will have to keep testing. Vinicius’s mechanics are not the best. He has never served as a maximum penalty shooter. In his career, he had only thrown two in the development of the game, missing one of them. It is not yet clear who will assume this responsibility. “We are testing. At that moment in the game, it was missing Modric. It can be any of them. Vinicius made a mistake today, but he shoots penalties very well“, Ancelotti defended him.

For the Italian, the Brazilian, despite the lack of aim, was “the positive protagonist of the game”, unlike an inconsequential Bellingham, contrary to what happened in the other pre-season games. Real Madrid wanted to stage a change of cycle against Barça in a game that was not for a friendly, with Kroos and Modric on the bench. Although the preseason is a relative scenario that invites daring, Carletto has increased the weight of the physique, where Camavinga or Tchouaméni are fundamental.

Ancelotti, from disappointment to reinvention

The Real Madrid squad is practically round and that is why the cracks are better perceived. Until the Clásico, Real Madrid had not been overly concerned about the lack of a front-row striker or a similar reference. The 3-2 against Milan and the 2-0 against Manchester United had concealed a baggage that has compiled five goals in three games, missed penalties and a Rodrygo with a false ‘9’ that has not yet been released.

Ancelotti felt upset with the departure of Benzema and the closing of ranks from the technical secretariat so as not to incorporate a profile like that of Kane o Vlahovic. He, a club man, aligned himself with the official position. “We are complete,” he assured after the second pre-season game, where his ability to adapt to resources was revealed.

The Italian has given up his sacrosanct 4-3-3 and he survives with an attractive rhombus that puts Bellingham on the attack front, with the consequent adaptation of Rodrygo and Vinicius to their duties in the attacking duo.

And at the end of the road, Kylian Mbappé. Because all roads lead to Paris, where she remains trapped -although these days she has changed the capital to Monaco– the jewel in the crown that will give meaning to the Real Madrid project long-term. Fundamental in the game, but also in everything that has to do with the club as a product of modern football.

Mbappé has given the signal that Madrid wanted

The game to incorporate the French star is more open than ever. The white team has decided not to move publicly and waits. After what happened last season, the club chaired by Florentino Pérez needed a signal from the player. He has her after the resignation of the offers that have been raised in the auction organized by PSG open to any bidder other than Real Madrid.

The biggest ordeal was raised by the Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia, which practically put a blank check. Mbappé did not want to listen to the offer, despite the fact that the club sent some emissaries to France. By the way, he removed part of the label that calls him a player only concerned with money and not with his career. From the PSG they begin to give messages of surrender.

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The French club is already looking for alternatives and could be done with Dembélé, who, oblivious to his situation, scored a tag goal against Real Madrid in the Clásico. Luis Enrique plans the season without the Frenchman and his teammates have modeled his message. They talk about Mbappé as if it were a footballer from another team.

“He’s a great player, but he’s not here. It’s a club decision, so I can’t talk about that,” said Danilo, the last to respond to the recurring question on which not only the fate of Real Madrid depends, but that of the global football board.